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Nairobi will welcome more than 500 power professionals from 10-11 September for the 15th edition of the East African Power Industry Convention (EAPIC). Uganda’s Energy Minister, the Honourable Engineer Irene Muloni, and Mr Mugo Kibati, CEO Kenya Vision 2030, head up a high-level industry expert speaker line-up that will address issues from government, financial and regulatory environments, to generation, transmission and distribution.

Challenges to power industryEAPIC director Christa Robijn says this year’s programme addresses the various challenges in the region’s power industry: “Unstable and unreliable electricity supply are the biggest contributors to slow economic growth. High demand puts pressure on already aged infrastructure, causing frequent black outs. The region’s reliance on hydroelectric production has made it vulnerable to climate change impacts.”

Regional experts from Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda, as well as international speakers from South Africa, Germany, Indonesia, India and Iceland will address the conference.

According to the EAPIC director the industry is keen to learn from what is happening in the global power industry as well as from each other.“For the first time we have a track dedicated to geothermal energy, looking at what this source of energy means for this region on the continent, financing options, specialised technologies and exploration challenges.”

She continues:“We are confident that we have brought together some of the industry’s most influential power professionals and will deliver more than just content, but solutions and technologies, emerging relationships and valuable knowledge that translates into new business.“

Kenya Power to share best practicesKenya Power is the host utility to the event. Says Christa Robijn: “Kenya Power have been implementing the Distribution Master Plan which is estimated to cost the distribution sector some US$900 million to upgrade distribution infrastructure and connect more customers to the grid. They are planning installing over 40 substations in various parts of Kenya and as host utility will be sharing their lessons learnt and best practices.”

As the longest running energy event in the region, EAPIC is well known with utilities and energy-related businesses in East Africa.“We’ve been around for 15 years because we have managed to stay relevant and address challenges in the power industry.A good example is the pre-conference workshops that we are offering on 9 September, including the Large Power User Forum focusing on tariff structures and energy efficiency and we look at the potential for LPUs to generate their own electricity.”

TCL PowerRegional power distribution equipment giant TCL Power has already signed up as a platinum sponsor. Through its subsidiary, Tanelec Ltd, a major specialist provider of transformers and switchgear, the company is active in countries such as Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Kenya.